raptor vs. trex; first heli

[barn]

I'm new, and loocking for a good start up heli. I have realflight g3 and have been ussing it alot. I was oroginally loocking a raptor 50 and then a raptor 30 cause it's cheaper. however the trex also seams to be a veary popular to begging heli and it would be nice to be to fly in park by my house. wich one would probly be best to learn with. price is an issue :arggg:
, but i would rather save and get the better heli than skimp. if possible i would like to get a heli that, latter on, i can start to do some 3d with. or would it be better to start with some differnt heli all together?

Would it be possible to put a .30 in a raptor 50 to save some money but still have room to grow.:)

[DebianDog]

No you should put a 50 in a 50 but just because you have the throttle does not mean you need to use 100% ;)

[wcc963]

wich one would probly be best to learn with. price is an issue

A raptor 30 is a great beginner heli but you wont be doing any hard 3D with it in the future. its good for learning to hover anf forward flight. and maybe some inverted hovering after that it just dosent have the power to weight ratio for 3D.

A raptor 50 is a great heli all around it can very easily be tuned down for a beginner pilot then cranked up when doing 3D. unlike the 30 the 50 has plenty of power to do 3D. this is one of those helis that someone buys and dosent need another heli.

A t-rex is a very good heli (i have one) its good for areas without alot of wind. if you have more than a 10mph wind its not good for a beginner pilot. while a raptor 30 or 50 will be much more stable in wind. i've seen guys hover a raptor 50 in 30mph winds. no way a t-rex could do that. 15mph is about max for me. one good thing about a t-rex is that parts are cheap and readily available. the average crash cost about $25-$35 wich compared to 100 for a 30 or 50.

as for a budget your looking at 700.00 and up for one of these helis. so i hope you have that kind of budget.

the setup for a rex that you would want is maybe a t-rex XL or SA. these are both cheap to buy and fix

3x HS-65hb servos
401 9650 combo
align 2100mah 3S lipo battery & charger.

(the kits come with a motor and speed controller)

this is a very sound setup and will go far.

try this site
http://www.grandrc.com/inc/sdetail/58209
thay have a build your own combo and probably the best price for a t-rex. an Xl with the setup above is about = 486.00 which is soo much less than what i paid for mine. but then you add a descent transmitter and your lookin at about 700 for this setup. i paid over 1000 for the same setup and a spektrum DX6(A VERY good beginner radio) or you could upgrade to the new DX7 for about 150.00 more.

[captcasper7]

If you want to start off cheaper i.e 30 instead of a 50, you could go with the Sceadu evo 30 and up grade to a 50 when you are ready. The only parts needs to do this are a 50 engine, mounts, fan, clutch / pinion, 600mm blades. you don't need to change the boom as they are he same on both 30 & 50.

[barn]

Thanks alot for your input DebianDog, wcc963, and captcasper7.

[barn]

One more question. I know that bigger models are more stable, but if there is little to no wind is a trex realy any harder to fly than a raptor or other large heli?

[wcc963]

but if there is little to no wind is a trex realy any harder to fly than a raptor or other large heli?

no they are almost the same in little or no wind. the t-rex though being small its a little more touchy while the 30 is like on cruise control. hovering is very easy. another downside to the rex is its size. being that small as soon as it gets around 60-70 ft away it gets very hary because its hard to get orientation on something that smal. this is just another advantage to a 30 or 50 size itro or electric.

[barn]

Thanks wcc963.

[Jeremy Z]

Well, I have to say that the T-Rex will become so much more attractive after the first crash. Also, there is no doubt that the T-Rex is 3D capable when you are.

The killer for the big helis is that you either have to go nitro or have a LOT of money freed up for batteries.

[AlanMcSwain]

Raptor 50.

Autorotations are a very important heli (=MONEY) saving skill. A Raptor 50 autos great. Go with the Rap 50.

Alan